Square Enix

Nintendo

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Suteragodon... Choco doesn't know, and the only result I got from searching was [Image link]. So maybe it's a snow ghost? Instead of "caped crusader" it's actually referring to Japanese detective hero Kogoro Akechi similar to (and based off of) Sherlock Holmes.

NEEDS:Different picture at the topBetter headers?Last kanji for GekkahiroLink to index pageMore complete quotes from Robert?Replace Robert's links with yours?Embedded Youtube video or link to the other translation page?Correct link to Face of the Moon?

ANCNT3

Robert Seddon says: This final miscellany in the search for unused text in FFVII International omits a couple of placeholders which amount to 'battle here', and ignores a few empty text blocks which turned out to be annoyingly blank in the Japanese files too, but it's pretty exhaustive otherwise. In ANCNT3, one of the maps from Aeris's dying place, we see what's presumably debug text...

チェック0{END}

Check 0

チェック1{END}

Check 1

ゆうやみの丘{END}

Twilight Hill

Robert Seddon says: As a minor point, the hill where Cloud and Tifa spend the night together (HILL/HILL2) is identified as "Twilight Hill".

決戦前 ハイウインド{END}

Highwind - Before the Decisive Battle

北の大空洞5~1です。{EOL}バトルロックしています。{EOL}NOJIMA{END}

Great North Cave 5~1 ???Battle lock enabled.NOJIMA

Robert Seddon says: Maybe a message from him to testers? I'd guess it has to do with the 'battle lock' that can be enabled in the main debug room.

TRNAD52

大空洞{END}

Great Cave ???

Robert Seddon says:TRNAD52, by the way, has its location identifier included, but seems to have an empty block in the English (PC) files missing altogether from International.

FSHIP_2

Robert Seddon says:FSHIP_2 is from the Highwind. This follows '{RED XIII} Well then‚ what is {CLOUD}?'

Cait Sith:Tifa's childhood friend Cloud, hm.5 years ago, during the Sephiroth incident at Nibelheim...Cloud was rendered unconscious...And used in Hojo's experiments...???

Robert Seddon says: There follows (in English too) '{RED XIII} But why only {CLOUD}?'—and that's the last line in the file.

FSHIP_3

Robert Seddon says:FSHIP_3 is also from the Highwind. Besides the 'speak to Captain Cid' and 'job well done' lines which are present in English, here we see some placeholder text.

「す、すいません!{EOL}一度{Cid}艇長とお話を!」{END}

E, excuse me!Go and talk to Captain Cid!

「仮:{Tifa}、{Barret}、{Red XIII}」{END}

Temporary: Tifa, Barret, Red XIII

「{Cid}さんごくろうさまです!{EOL}「仮:{Cid}、{Barret}、{Cait Sith}」{END}

Thank you very much, Cid!Temporary: Cid, Barret, Cait Sith

仮:{Cid}、{Barret}、{Cait Sith}

Temporary: Cid, Barret, Cait Sith

「{Tifa}さんごくろうさまです!」{END}

Thank you very much, Tifa!

[...]

...

{Cloud}の演説ながなが終了{END}

Cloud's address draws to a close.

CHORACE/DEL/RCKT

Robert Seddon says:CHORACE1 and CHORACE2 have some debugging text – デバック{EOL}{VAR1} だって{END} – but what variable VAR1 represents would be context-dependent, so it can't be determined from the text. Also of note on these maps: CHORACE2 has the キーストーン (Keystone) we see in the finished game, but CHORACE1 has キー・マテリア (Key Materia). Maybe Square decided they didn't want another special Materia in the plot. There are a couple of other maps that appear in two visually identical versions: DEL1/DEL12 (Costa del Sol harbour) and RCKT3/RCKT32 (Cid's garden). (Usually an extra trailing 2 suggests a variant, e.g. a different camera angle, but these have no visual differences. Each has a piece of scenery which may be present or absent, so my guess is that Square started out using multiple map versions, then decided that complete multiple files weren't necessary, but didn't clean up fully.) The latter has no dialogue variations (although the filesizes are different, so something must vary), but the former has a smidgeon of variation (and DEL12's dialogue is curtailed before DEL1's version ends). Probably an editor only bothered changing the one that was actually used. Besides a very slight variation in Aeris's text, this line was added to Barret's:

「いいか!!{EOL}こっからは一般人として行動しろ!」{END}

Alright!!From now on, act natural!

MIDGAL

Robert Seddon says:MIDGAL, Zack's dying place, brings up sad news: not only is a known blank from the English version still blank here, the adjacent, unused 'Received "High Blow ST"!' is blanked out in International too.

Jump to Fort Condor (CONDOR1)?1. To Fort Condor's Base2. To Fort Condor Village3. After Minigame Victory4. First Visit After ???5. Before Last Battle6. After Last Battle7. After Finishing Everything8. Beginning Minigame9. After Corel Mission Success10. ???

1. Stop2. 11. Cait Sith's theme3. 12: Related to Aeris, when she says "I'm here" ???4. 13: How would this be in the field?5. 16: Rufus' welcoming ceremony under Junon ???6. 17: ??? room under Junon7. 18: I intended to use this in Cloud's dream8. 19: For use in a town of little remark9. 20: Cid's theme10. 21: ???11. 22: Chocobo dance at the boy's ranch ???12. Next

1. Stop ???2. 23: In Corneo's mansion3. 24: In the machine room on board the ship to Costa del Sol or something4. 25: Cosmo Canyon5. 26: Around the time you enter Red 13's name ???6. 27: Red 13 finds the stone statue of Seto7. 28: At a suspicious place8. 29: Around the time the Shinra VIPs enter. ???9. 30: Wouldn't this be good in the Shinra building or something?10. 31: In the cell11. 32: Boy's ranch ???12. Next

We know the titles, we know they were going to be written and readable, but we don't have the books to read. That pretty well fits this enquiry as a whole: we know more, but we still have plenty of questions.

With regard to the lost cutscenes which are still viewable, we don't know how or where the From Pinball scene would have continued. (It crashes because the game tries to switch location to somewhere that apparently doesn't exist.) We don't know how the Materia scene would have fitted into the plot, and I've come to suspect that the Cargo scene is acually another debugging programmer's joke. (We know there's debugging manu text on that map, after all.)

We know that quite a lot was changed in Sector 7, some of it involving Johnny, but we lack a complete picture. We know some changes are beyond reach, because we've seen some in pre-release publicity. We have no idea what the 'voluntary restraints' are all about. (GlitterBerri translating part of ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/自主規制: '"Voluntary restraint" is when a manufacturer voluntarily restricts a product when uneasiness about its social implications arises.

On the positive side, the only great disappointment was finding that there was actually no unused text in Aeris's house after all. (The translators had just avoided duplicating stuff.) We know that quite a lot of character development, notably involving Jessie, was removed, and we can see how things would have proceeded. We know that Cloud's knowledge of and unfinished business with Sephiroth were to be foreshadowed far more explicitly in early scenes than they are in the finished game.

And lastly, we know that we are but the bedbugs of a shabby inn, which is surely almost as satisfying as knowing what a Steragodon is. Now we can go back to dreaming of the earliest scenario drafts, and their tales of New York and the mysterious Hot Blooded Detective Joe...